Animals such as dogs and cats occasionally must be restrained in order to limit the ability of the animal to access parts of its body for purposes including licking body parts, such as wounds; biting at stitches; tearing off bandages; or removing intravenous lines. Animal restraint collars can be utilized by veterinarians to assist in examination and by groomers during animal care or grooming.
One commonly utilized animal restraint collar is an “Elizabethan” collar that includes a conical shaped structure radiating out from a narrow open end secured to the neck of an animal behind the head, and extending to a broader open end that extends forwardly about the animal's head to near the snout. Elizabethan type collars are believed to be relatively uncomfortable for an animal because they are relatively bulky and awkward for the animal to wear. Still another type of collar that has been utilized to restrain an animal is often times referred to as a “bite-not-collar” which is comprised of a high-necked collar that can prevent an animal from turning its head to bite. Such collars may be uncomfortable for the animal and require to be stocked in different lengths to accommodate the various neck lengths of different animals.
Examples of other prior art devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,814 to Miller relates to an animal pet medical collar which comprises a self-supporting solid resilient foam body having a doughnut shape formed by a peripheral, generally annular wall defining a central opening adapted to fit around the neck of an animal pet. The wall is reportedly wide enough to prevent a pet wearing it from mouthing a part of the pet's body and thus injuring itself by pulling stitches, licking wounds, etc. The body wall has a pair of spaced opposite ends bridged by a drawstring anchored to one of the ends and passing through the other end to the outside of the body, against which it is releasably locked by a spring clamp or the like. The clamp can be a pair of spring-biased tubes with alignable transverse, drawstring-receiving openings. The drawstring can include a spring or be formed of stretchable material. The drawstring can also include an alarm actuable by excess drawstring tension. The collar can further include recessed drawstring detents in a concealed compartment and a cover which bridges the body gap.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,222 to Bowen relates to an adjustable pet collar comprised of a flexible UV safe foam shaped as a cylinder with a vertical slit. The closure consists of one or more self-adhesive loop strap attached around the center of the collar with one end overlapping. The hook strap is attached to the overlapping side of the self-adhesive side loop strap. The collar may contain one or two Velcro strips attached to the collar. A single Velcro strap is used for smaller-animals while the double strap is used for large animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,054 to Campbell relates to a pad designed to form a collar for supporting the neck of an animal. The pad is formed from a resilient, trimmable, and washable material having a top surface and a bottom surface separated by a pad thickness t. The pad is preferably substantially rectangular, having a pair of free ends which embrace the mandible and scapula of the animal, and a pair of engaging ends which overlap. The pad has a pad length Lp between the engaging ends, and a pad width Wp between the free ends. Preferably, the ratio of Lp/Wp is such that 3<Lp/Wp<6. The pad is preferably fabricated from a closed-cell polymer foam, and the top and bottom surfaces preferably form soil-resistant layers. Cross-linked polyethylene foam having a density of between about 2 and 6 lbs/cu.ft. with the thickness t being about ¼ inch has been found effective. To form a collar, one or more inelastic bands secure the pad about the neck. Each band is preferably a length of surgical adhesive tape, and is preferably of sufficient length to overlap itself when wrapped around the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,295 to Lippincoft relates to a veterinary restraint collar for a cat, comprising two side-by-side rings of soft, flexible and non-resilient medical padding material sewn together along their inner margins and having a drawstring passage with a “stretch” gauze drawstring in the passage. The rings have adjacent faces of thin plastic sheet material, and opposite faces of soft absorbent material, and are gathered to form radial pleats. The rings stand out from the neck hole to form a flexible barrier reportedly restricting the animal's ability to reach portions of its body with its mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,802 to Schmid et al. relates to a veterinary recovery collar preventing an animal from licking or biting wounds, sores or stitches on its body and scratching its head with its paws. The collar has the shape of a round pillow with a central aperture. A shawl extends into the central aperture and has a drawstring. The collar is placed over the animal's head and is retained in place by drawing, or pulling, the drawstring that is laced through the shawl. The resulting collar creates a substantive barrier, reportedly preventing the animal from reaching its body with its head, or reaching its head with its paws.
U.S. Pat. No. 418,636 to Marconi, Jr. relates to the ornamental design for a pet harness with restrictive access device collar designed to prohibit passage through fences, as shown and described.
U.S. Pub. No. US2003/0037735 to Albers et al. relates to an animal collar system for safely and conveniently limiting physical movement of an animal's head. The animal collar system includes an elongate protective member having a first end and a second end. The protective member has a generally broad cylindrical structure and is preferably comprised of a resilient material such as foam material. A plurality of cutouts preferably extend into an inner section of the protective member for facilitating bending of the protective member. A securing strap is attached to the first end of the protective member and removably securable to the second end.
Although numerous types of animal restraint collars exist, it would be desirable to provide an animal collar for safely limiting physical movement of the head of animal and minimizing the animal's ability to bite itself or a handler, while providing a collar that is easy to utilize and comfortable for an animal to wear.